Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Orto Trading Co is another spot we have been meaning to visit for positively ages; you know how it is though....too many restaurants, too little money!

Anyway, as we near the end of our short holiday, we decide the time is right to pop in for a quiet mid-week lunch.

The restaurant has ample indoor & outdoor seating, and despite the very cute British bulldog sitting at an outdoor table, we choose to sit inside.

The room is light & airy thanks to all the glass; it is a very comfortable space with large tables sporting cute, little floral arrangements that suit the overall theme of the restaurant.

We order our food and kick back with a couple of beers.

First to arrive isLong red chillistuffed with herbed labna. Truly delicious. The creamy herbed labna is perfectly offset by the slight 'kick' of the chilli. Next please.

Cauliflower fritterswith a curried pear sauceare a thing of beauty. The fritters are not remotely oily, the cauliflower retains some 'bite' & the curry pear sauce is sweet, yet slighlty spicy. Totally moreish.

Tarte tatin with caramelised spring onion, goats cheese and a lemon sorrel and fennel saladis spectacular. The flavours are truly harmonious.... and never, & I mean NEVER, have I seen such caramelisation, so gooey and divine.

Glazed duckwith mustard mandarins, radicchio and hazelnutsis another winner. Firstly, this is a very generous serve. The glazing is delicately sweet and the duck meat is cooked perfectly and falls from the bone with the gentlest of prods. Very good indeed.

Twice cooked yearling beef rib eye with horseradish, potato dumplings and a rich mushroom sauce.This is an interesting one. The rib eye seems to be sous vide first (I could well be wrong) & then finished on the grill. While this makes for a very tender piece of meat, it does give it an unusual texture, which I am not sure I am entirely happy with. The flavour is fantastic though. The mushroom sauce, while abundant, does not have a very strong flavour. The potato dumplings are sublime though and I could eat a truckload of these.

The accompanyingwatercress and blood orange saladis light, fresh and very summery.

About Us & What We Do

We love food. We don't care if it costs a little or a lot... as long as it is good. We would prefer to pay $50 for a great steak, than $5 for a mediocre one. That's just the way we roll. That said if we can get a great steak for $5 all the better!
We write about food as a labour of love; we enjoy eating & sharing our experiences and hope that our blog inspires others to try out some places they may not have otherwise.